Archery trials begin

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Jamshedpur, May 10: Over 90 budding archers today aimed for the bullseye at JRD Tata Sports Complex on the first day of selection trials for induction into Tata Archery Academy.

The aspirants, who have flocked to the steel city from across the country with dreams of becoming Deepika Kumaris and Jayanta Talukdars, tried their best to come to notice of cradle mentors Purnima Mahto and Dharmender Tiwary.

While some boys and girls in 13-18 age group used bamboo bows, others aimed with more sophisticated recurve gear. The coaches, who doubled up as selectors, judged the stance, shooting, height and weight of the archers, who hailed from Jharkhand, Manipur, Bengal, Assam, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

“Some of them shot well. I was also satisfied with their stances. While some have been asked to stay till the camp ends, others have been released,” said Mahto.

Tiwary said some archers from Tata Steel Rural Development Society were judged in the evening.

He added that as many as 24 boys and girls will be shortlisted for a 20-day camp held after the trials.

The list would be further pruned to 12 (six boys and as many girls), who would be inducted into the academy in phases, Tiwary added.